Investigating the effectiveness of continuing professional development in project management

The project management community requires continuing professional development and training. Organisations increasingly recognise that a dramatic increase in the workforce effectiveness is vital to achieve sustained competitive advantage in a global market. Expenditure on training and education represents an investment with the expectation of a beneficial return to the organisation. However, corporate sponsorship for project management education programmes has, to date, been a leap of faith. The aim of this research is to assess the value of professional development programmes to the effectiveness, efficiency and profitability of recipient organisations. Being typical of an MSc provision in the UK, the research empirically examines the effectiveness of the case study modular distance leaming programme: The Project Management Professional Development Programme (PMPDP). It is an academic-industrial collaboration between The University of Manchester and Rolls-Royce, AMEC, Goodrich and EDS with some guest organisations also. A contextual review covers the fundamental developments in the areas of project success, competence, continuing professional development, training evaluation, return on investment and transfer of learning. The emerging concept of Benefit Metrics towards evaluating the effectiveness of training and education is presented. Using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research instruments, five interrelated research studies are undertaken; each investigating different elements of the case study programme (PMPDP) in light of the Phillips (2003) Return on Investment (ROI) model. The main findings of the research show the following: CPD programmes are likely to develop professional students into more knowledgeable employees able to initiate changes in their work behaviours. Knowledge gained from such programmes is reasonably well applied in the work environment, benefiting the companies. Evidence is provided that suggests direct improvements in the individual job performance of employees from the case study programme. Some positive effects of CPD programmes similar to PMPDP are apparent in business and corporate performances as well. The research explores a variety of benefits to individuals, projects, business units and possible corporate level. It is concluded that most of the benefits from the activities of education and training are intangible and central to individuals that lead to tangible as well as intangible improvements in project/ business unit and/ or corporate performance. The research establishes the widely debated link between investment in project management education and benefits to individuals, projects, business units and the corporate level. The investigation process examines the viability of the five level Philips (2003) ROI model from a business perspective. The reactions, knowledge, application of skills and their impact on organisational performance are successfully gauged and suggest that levels I to IV of the Phillips (2003) ROI model are reasonably applicable and can be used as a framework to investigate the effectiveness of CPD programmes. However, the extent to which there is a financial return arising from professional development programmes is difficult to assess and this brings into question the applicability of level V of the ROI model. The overriding success of this research is the pathway that equates investment with the return on value from professional development programmes.